Healing a Broken System: Veterans Battling Addiction and Incarceration. Drug Policy Alliance; November 2009.
This report examines the significant barriers that veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan face in obtaining effective treatment for mental health and substance abuse problems, and the tragic consequences of leaving these wounds of war untreated: addiction, homelessness, suicide, overdose and incarceration. Healing a Broken System: Veterans Battling Addiction and Incarceration urges local, state and federal government agencies to take immediate steps to ensure the health, safety and freedom of the men and women who serve in the United States Armed Forces. The report recommends changes to state and federal laws that expand and improve alternatives to incarceration for veterans who commit nonviolent drug offenses; overdose prevention programs that target veterans who abuse substances or take prescription medications; and increased access to medication-assisted therapies such as methadone and buprenorphine for veterans who struggle with opioid dependence.
